Image pickup apparatus having plurality of external connection terminals

ABSTRACT

An image pickup apparatus that prevents hooking of a cable, coming-off of a connector, or the like without lowering insertion and extraction performance of a cable even when external connection terminals are arranged on inclined faces formed on a side surface of an apparatus main body in its width direction while reducing a size of the apparatus main body in the width direction. The inclined faces inclines such that ends of the respective inclined faces on a back side of the apparatus main body are inclined in a direction to come close to the optical axis. The inclined faces are arranged at positions so as not to overlap to each other when viewed from the width direction of the apparatus main body, and are arranged such that a part of the inclined faces overlap to each other when viewed from a direction of the optical axis.

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 16/115,971filed Aug. 29, 2018, which is a continuation of application Ser. No.15/281,743 filed Sep. 30, 2016, U.S. Pat. No. 10,091,401 B2.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus such as, forexample, a digital video camera for professional-use, and specificallyto an image pickup apparatus having a plurality of external connectionterminals.

Description of the Related Art

In a digital video camera for professional-use or the like, connectorsare often arranged on a back side of a camera main body to prevent theconnectors to which cables are connected from being broken becauseshooting is performed in a state where the camera main body to which thecables are connected is carried on a shoulder of a moving person.

However, a recent digital video camera for professional-use hasdeveloped in multiple functionality, so that a connector for performinghigh speed communication, a connector for performing IP communication,or the like are provided on the camera main body, resulting in increaseof the number of connectors. The image pickup apparatus is disclosed inwhich connectors are arranged on a side surface of a camera main bodysince it impossible to arrange all of the connectors on a back side ofthe camera main body. (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (kokai) No.2007-53426).

However, when the number of the connectors is increased due to furthermultiple functionality of the camera, and when the connectors arearranged on the side surface of the camera main body, for example,detachment of the connector due to hooking of a cable is likely to occurwhen the camera main body is carried on a shoulder of a moving person.

On the other hand, making all of the connectors be arranged on the backsurface part of the camera main body leads to further increase in sizeof the camera main body in its width direction, resulting in a shapeunsuitable for a digital video camera for professional-use of a shouldercarry type.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an image pickup apparatus that preventshooking of a cable, coming-off of a connector, or the like withoutlowering insertion and extraction performance of a cable into and froman external connection terminal even when a plurality of externalconnection terminals is arranged on a side surface of an apparatus mainbody in its width direction while reducing a size of the apparatus mainbody of the image pickup apparatus in the width direction.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an image pickup apparatuscomprising a plurality of inclined faces formed on a side surface in awidth direction of an apparatus main body perpendicular to an opticalaxis of a lens part which is provided on the image pickup apparatus, theplurality of inclined faces being inclined such that ends of therespective inclined faces on a back side of the apparatus main body areinclined in a direction to come close to the optical axis of the lenspart, and a plurality of external connection terminals provided on therespective plurality of inclined faces, wherein the plurality ofinclined faces are arranged at positions so as not to overlap to eachother when viewed from the width direction of the apparatus main body,and are arranged at a position such that at least a part of the inclinedfaces overlap to each other when viewed from a direction of the opticalaxis of the lens part.

The present invention makes it possible to prevent hooking of a cable,coming-off of a connector, or the like without lowering insertion andextraction performance of a cable into and from the external connectionterminal even when the plurality of external connection terminals isarranged on the side surface of the apparatus main body in the widthdirection while reducing the size of the apparatus main body of theimage pickup apparatus in the width direction.

Further features of the present invention will become apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments (with reference to theattached drawings).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a digital video camera forprofessional-use that is an example of an embodiment of an image pickupapparatus of the present invention as viewed from a front side thereof.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the digital video camera forprofessional-use shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from a back side thereof.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state where caps and covers areattached to a plurality of connectors of the digital video camera forprofessional-use shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state where caps and covers areattached to the connectors of the digital video camera forprofessional-use shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state where cables or the likeare connected to the respective connectors of the digital video camerafor professional-use shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state where the cables or thelike are connected to the respective connectors of the digital videocamera for professional-use shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a left side view of a camera main body when viewed from thefront side thereof.

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view taken along a line A-A of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a state where cables are connected to therespective connectors arranged on the left side surface of the cameramain body when viewed from the front side thereof.

FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view taken along a line B-B of FIG. 9.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention willbe described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a digital video camera forprofessional-use of a shoulder carry type that is an example of theembodiment of an image pickup apparatus of the present invention asviewed from a front side thereof. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of thedigital video camera for professional-use shown in FIG. 1 as viewed froma back side thereof.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the digital video camera 100 forprofessional-use of the present embodiment (hereinafter, simply referredto as a camera 100), a replaceable lens part 102 is detachably providedon the front side of a camera main body 101 as an example of anapparatus main body. Furthermore, a battery unit 103 for supplyingelectric power is detachably provided on a back part of the camera mainbody 101. A plurality of connectors is provided on a left side surfaceof the camera main body 101 in a width direction perpendicular to anoptical axis of the lens part 102 when the camera main body 101 isviewed from the front side.

Specifically, a D tap connector 104, a wireless communication connector105, a microphone input connector 106, a lens connector 107, a cardconnector 108, a USB connector 109, and an HDMI (registered trademark)cable connector 202 are provided.

Likewise, an external monitor connection connector 201, a wired LANcable connector 203, shooting information output connectors 204, 205,monitors 206, 207, and a return signal connector 208 are provided.Likewise, SDI connectors 209 to 212, a remote control terminal 213, aLANC connector 214, and an audio output stereo connector 215 areprovided.

Furthermore, at a lower part of the back part of the camera main body101, audio output monaural connectors 216, 217, and a power sourceconnector 218 are provided on a lower side of the battery unit 103. Thecamera 100 of the present embodiment performs shooting while being movedwith the camera main body 101 being carried on a shoulder of a person ina state where a cable is connected to each of the connectors that are aplurality of external connection terminals.

As shown in FIG. 1, the D tap connector 104 is a power source connectorcapable of supplying electric power to an external video light or anexternal monitor. The wireless communication connector 105 is aconnector for connecting thereto a wireless communication unit 502 (seeFIG. 5) capable of transferring shooting data by wireless communication.

The microphone input connector 106 is an XLR connector, and makes itpossible to, when an external microphone is connected thereto, recordvoice by transmitting a signal input to the eternal microphone to a mainsubstrate not shown of the camera main body 101 and by subjecting thesignal to a predetermined signal processing.

The lens connector 107 is a connector for transmitting a signal from thelens part 102 to the camera main body 101 by connecting thereto a cablefor the lens part 102. The card connector 108 is provided with arecording medium inside a cap. The USB connector 109 makes it possibleto perform wireless communication by connecting thereto an eternalconnection USB.

As shown in FIG. 2, the external monitor connection connector 201 is aconnector for connecting an external electronic view finder (EVF), andis capable of outputting video input from the lens part 102 to the EVFby connecting thereto a cable for the EVF.

The HDMI cable connector 202 is a connector for connecting thereto acommunication cable for transmitting video and voice, and makes itpossible to output the video and voice input from the lens part 102 toan external monitor. The wired LAN cable connector 203 makes it possibleto connect to the Internet by connecting thereto a LAN cable.

The shooting information output connectors 204, 205 are each a connectorfor outputting information obtained during shooting, and capable ofoutputting information such as time code or GEN-lock by connectingthereto an external apparatus. The monitors 206, 207 are each aconnector for outputting video signal input from the lens part 102, andBNC connectors are used in the present embodiment.

The return signal connector 208 is a connector for inputting externalinformation, and makes it possible to display, on a monitor of thecamera 100, video being shot by another camera when shooting isperformed by using a plurality of cameras, and a BNC connector is used.

The SDI connectors 209 to 212 are each a connector for outputting an SDIsignal to an external apparatus, and BNC connectors are used. The remotecontrol terminal 213 makes it possible to, by connecting thereto aremote control unit, operate the camera 100 by outputting a signal inputfrom the remote control unit to the main substrate of the camera mainbody 101.

The LANC connector 214 makes it possible to operate the camera 100 byconnecting thereto a LANC remote controller. The audio output stereoconnector 215 is capable of outputting voice recorded on the camera 100side to an external apparatus by a stereo signal.

Each of the audio output monaural connectors 216, 217 is capable ofoutputting voice recorded by the camera 100 to an external apparatus bya monaural signal. The audio output monaural connector 216 outputschannel 1 and the audio output monaural connector 217 outputs channel 2.The power source connector 218 is a connector for supplying electricpower to the camera 100.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state where caps and covers areattached to the connectors 104 to 109 of the camera 100 shown in FIG. 1.FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state where caps and covers areattached to the connectors 201 to 208 of the camera 100 shown in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 3, a connector cap 301 is detachably attached to the Dtap connector 104, and a connector cap 302 is detachably attached to thewireless communication connector 105. A terminal cover 303 has twoconnector caps and the respective connector caps are attached to themicrophone input connector 106 and the lens connector 107. A jack cover304 covers the USB connector 109 in an openable/closable manner forprotection.

As shown in FIG. 4, a jack cover 401 has two connector caps, and therespective connector caps are detachably attached to the externalmonitor connection connector 201 and the HDMI cable connector 202. Aconnector cap 402 is detachably attached to the wired LAN cableconnector 203. A BNC cover 403 has two connector caps, and therespective connector caps are detachably attached to the shootinginformation output connectors 204, 205.

A monitor cover 404 has three connector caps, and the respectiveconnector caps are detachably attached to the monitor 206, the monitor207, and the return signal connector 208. An SDI cover 405 has fiveconnector caps, and the respective connector caps are detachablyattached to the SDI connectors 209 to 212 and the remote controlterminal 213.

A rear cover 406 has two connector caps, and the respective connectorcaps are detachably attached to the LANC connector 214 and the audiooutput stereo connector 215. A rear jack cover 407 has three connectorcaps, and the respective connector caps are detachably attached to theaudio output monaural connector 216, the audio output monaural connector217, and the power source connector 218.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state where cables or the likeare connected to the respective connectors 104 to 109 of the camera 100shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state wherecables or the like are connected to the respective connectors 201 to 208of the camera 100 shown in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 5, a D tap cable 501 is a cable having an L charactershape, and is connected to the D tap connector 104. A wirelesscommunication unit 502 is a unit having an L character shape, and isconnected to the wireless communication connector 105. A microphoneinput cable 503 is connected to the microphone input connector 106.

A lens cable 504 is connected to the lens connector 107. A USBcommunication unit 505 is a unit having an L character shape, and isconnected to the USB connector 109. It should be noted that theprotrusion amount of each of the D tap cable 501, the wirelesscommunication unit 502, and the USB communication unit 505 from thecamera main body 101 is small, so that possibility of their breakage orthe like is low even when they are arranged on the side surface of thecamera main body 101.

As shown in FIG. 6, an external monitor connection cable 601 isconnected to the external monitor connection connector 201. An HDMIcable 602 is connected to the HDMI cable connector 202. A connectorfixing screw is fitted to the HDMI cable 602, and fastening of theconnector fixing screw to a screw hole formed on the camera main body101 makes it possible to prevent breakage or the like of the HDMI cableconnector 202.

A wired LAN cable 603 is connected to the wired LAN cable connector 203.A BNC cable 604 is connected to the shooting information outputconnector 204, and a BNC cable 605 is connected to the shootinginformation output connector 205. BNC cables 606, 607 are connected tothe monitors 206, 207, respectively.

A BNC cable 608 is connected to the return signal connector 208, and BNCcables 609 to 612 are connected to the SDI connectors 209 to 212,respectively. A remote control cable 613 is connected to the remotecontrol terminal 213.

A LANC cable 614 is connected to the LANC connector 214. A 5-pin XLRcable 615 is connected to the audio output stereo connector 215, and3-pin XLR cables 616, 617 are connected to the audio output monauralconnectors 216, 217, respectively. A 4-pin XLR cable 618 is connected tothe power source connector 218.

These various cables have a hard part formed of a metal or a resin at adistal end part on a connection side to a corresponding connector, andthe hard part has a different length depending on types of the cables.

FIG. 7 is a left side view of the camera main body 101 when viewed fromthe front side thereof. FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view taken along aline A-A of FIG. 7. In FIG. 7, on a connector arranged face 701, theexternal monitor connection connector 201 and the HDMI cable connector202 are arranged. On a connector arranged face 702, the wired LAN cableconnector 203 is arranged.

On a connector arranged face 703, the shooting information outputconnectors 204, 205 are arranged. On a connector arranged face 704, themonitor 206, the monitor 207, and the return signal connector 208 arearranged. On a connector arranged face 705, the SDI connectors 209 to212, the remote control terminal 213, the LANC connector 214, and theaudio output stereo connector 215 are arranged. These connectors arearranged at positions so as not to protrude from an outermost outlinepart of the camera main body 101.

Herein, the connector arranged faces 701 to 705 are made to be inclinedfaces such that an end of each of the connector arranged faces 701 to705 on the back side of the camera main body 101 (hereinafter, referredto as inside end) is inclined in a direction to come close to theoptical axis of the lens part 102. An inclined angle of each of theinclined faces is set at substantially 60° with respect to the opticalaxis of the lens part 102.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 8, the inside end of the connectorarranged face 701 and an end of the connector arranged face 702 on aside away from the optical axis of the lens part 102 which is the frontside of the camera main body 101 (hereinafter, referred to as outsideend) are connected to respective both ends of a connection face 801 atsubstantially 90°.

Likewise, an inside end of the connector arranged face 702 and anoutside end of the connector arranged face 703 are connected torespective both ends of a connection face 802 at substantially 90°.Furthermore, an inside end of the connector arranged face 703 and thecamera main body 101 are connected to respective both ends of aconnection face 803 at substantially 90°.

This structure makes it possible to prevent a side wall of the cameramain body 101 from being an obstacle when the cables are inserted intothe connectors arranged on the connector arranged faces 701 to 705.

In addition, the connector arranged faces 701 to 705 are arranged insubstantially parallel to one another, and are arranged at positionssuch that the faces do not overlap to one another when viewed from theleft side surface of the camera main body 101 in the width directionperpendicular to the optical axis of the lens part 102. This makes itpossible to improve insertion and extraction performance of the cablesinto and from the respective connectors.

Furthermore, in FIG. 8, when viewed from the optical axis direction ofthe lens part 102 (front side), the connector arranged faces 701 to 705are arranged such that the faces overlap. This makes it possible to makethe camera main body 101 thin.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a state where the cables are connected tothe respective connectors arranged on the left side surface when viewedfrom the front side of the camera main body 101. FIG. 10 is a crosssectional view taken along a line B-B of FIG. 9.

As shown in FIG. 9, the D tap cable 501 is a cable having an L charactershape, so that the cable is disposed at a position inclined by 90° withrespect to an insertion direction into the D tap connector 104.Consequently, the D tap cable 501 is disposed along the side surface ofthe camera main body 101.

Furthermore, the wireless communication unit 502 to be connected to thewireless communication connector 105 and the USB communication unit 505to be connected to the USB connector 109 each have an L character shapewith respect to the connector connection parts, so that the units arearranged along a height direction of the camera main body 101.

Furthermore, the microphone input connector 106 to which the microphoneinput cable 503 is connected, and the lens connector 107 to which thelens cable 504 is connected are arranged so as to face the front side ofthe camera main body 101.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 6, the audio output monauralconnectors 216, 217 to which the 3-pin XLR cables 616, 617 areconnected, respectively, and the power source connector 218 to which the4-pin XLR cable 618 is connected are arranged so as to face the backside of the camera main body 101. Thus, the connectors do not cause aproblem such as their breakage or cable hooking also in a state wherethe cables and the units are connected.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 9, the connectors are arrangedon the connector arranged faces 701 to 703 closely in the optical axisdirection of the lens part 102. For this reason, the two connectors 201,202 are arranged on the same plane of the connector arranged face 701that is arranged nearest to the front side.

Furthermore, on the connector arranged face 702 between the connectorarranged face 701 and the connector arranged face 703 arranged nearestto the back side, one connector 203 is arranged at a position betweenthe connectors 201, 202. Furthermore, on the connector arranged face703, the two connectors 204, 205 are arranged so as to be deviated withrespect to the connector 203 in the height direction of the camera mainbody 101.

In this manner, the connectors on the connector arranged faces 701 to703 are arranged so as to be alternately deviated in the heightdirection of the camera main body 101, making it possible to dispose thecables so as not to be overlapped to each other when the cables aredisposed in a straight manner. This improves insertion and extractionperformance of the cable into and from the connector.

As shown in FIG. 10, the connector 202 to which the HDMI cable 602 isconnected, the connector 203 to which the wired LAN cable 603 isconnected, and the connector 205 to which the BNC cable 605 is connectedare arranged in substantially parallel to the connection faces 801 to803, respectively. This prevents a surrounding shape from becoming anobstacle during insertion/extraction of the cables.

Furthermore, the length L1 of the connection face 801, the length L2 ofthe connection face 802, the length L3 of the connection face 803 areset so as to be substantially same as or longer than lengths of the hardparts of the cables to be inserted into the connectors arranged on theconnector arranged faces 701 to 703, respectively. This makes, when thecables are pushed in a bend direction, the pushed force be received bythe connection faces 801 to 803.

Furthermore, making the lengths L1 to L3 of the connection faces 801 to803 substantially same as the lengths of the hard parts of the cablesprevents the cables adjacent to each other from becoming obstaclesduring insertion/extraction of the cables to/from the connectorsarranged on the connector arranged faces 701 to 703.

Furthermore, the hard part of the cable is arranged inside the cardconnector 108 in the width direction of the camera main body 101,preventing breakage of the cable or the connector even when the sidesurface of the camera main body 101 in the width direction collides withan obstacle such as a wall.

As described above, the present embodiment makes it possible to preventhooking or disconnection of the cable without lowering insertion andextraction performance of the cable into and from the connector evenwhen the connectors are arranged on the side surface of the camera mainbody 101 while reducing the thickness of the camera main body 101 in itswidth direction. This makes it possible to prevent breakage of theconnector and coming off of the cable.

OTHER EMBODIMENTS

Embodiment(s) of the present invention can also be realized by acomputer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computerexecutable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on astorage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as a‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/orthat includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or moreof the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by thecomputer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out andexecuting the computer executable instructions from the storage mediumto perform the functions of one or more of the above-describedembodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). Thecomputer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., central processingunit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network ofseparate computers or separate processors to read out and execute thecomputer executable instructions. The computer executable instructionsmay be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or thestorage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or moreof a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM),a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as acompact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™),a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent structures andfunctions.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Applications No.2015-202785, filed Oct. 14, 2015 which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

What is claimed is:
 1. An image pickup apparatus comprising: a pluralityof inclined faces formed on a side surface in a width direction of anapparatus main body perpendicular to an optical axis, the plurality ofinclined faces being inclined such that ends of the respective inclinedfaces on a back side of the apparatus main body are inclined in adirection to come close to the optical axis; and a plurality of externalconnection terminals provided on the respective plurality of inclinedfaces, wherein the plurality of inclined faces are arranged at positionsso as not to overlap each other when viewed from the width direction ofthe apparatus main body, and are arranged at a position such that atleast a part of the inclined faces overlap each other when viewed from adirection of the optical axis, and wherein the number of externalconnection terminals provided on a first inclined face among theplurality of inclined faces is different from the number of externalconnection terminals provided on a second inclined face, among theplurality of inclined faces, other than the first inclined face.
 2. Theimage pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein inclined angles ofthe respective inclined faces with respect to the optical axis aresubstantially the same.
 3. The image pickup apparatus according to claim1, wherein the plurality of external connection terminals provided onthe respective plurality of inclined surfaces are arranged at positionsso as not to protrude from an outermost outline part of the apparatusmain body.
 4. An image pickup apparatus comprising: a plurality ofinclined faces formed on a side surface in a width direction of anapparatus main body perpendicular to an optical axis, the plurality ofinclined faces being inclined such that ends of the respective inclinedfaces on a back side of the apparatus main body are inclined in adirection to come close to the optical axis; and a plurality of externalconnection terminals provided on the respective plurality of inclinedfaces, wherein the plurality of inclined faces are arranged at positionsso as not to overlap each other when viewed from the width direction ofthe apparatus main body, and are arranged at a position such that atleast a part of the inclined faces overlap each other when viewed from adirection of the optical axis, and wherein shapes or sizes of externalconnection terminals provided on one of the plurality of inclined facesare different from each other.
 5. The image pickup apparatus accordingto claim 4, wherein inclined angles of the respective inclined faceswith respect to the optical axis are substantially the same.
 6. Theimage pickup apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the plurality ofexternal connection terminals provided on the respective plurality ofinclined surfaces are arranged at positions so as not to protrude froman outermost outline part of the apparatus main body.
 7. An image pickupapparatus comprising: a plurality of inclined faces formed on a sidesurface in a width direction of an apparatus main body perpendicular toan optical axis, the plurality of inclined faces being inclined suchthat ends of the respective inclined faces on a back side of theapparatus main body are inclined in a direction to come close to theoptical axis; and a plurality of external connection terminals providedon the respective plurality of inclined faces, wherein the plurality ofinclined faces are arranged at positions so as not to overlap each otherwhen viewed from the width direction of the apparatus main body, and arearranged at a position such that at least a part of the inclined facesoverlap each other when viewed from a direction of the optical axis,wherein the number of external connection terminals provided on a firstinclined face among the plurality of inclined faces is different fromthe number of external connection terminals provided on a secondinclined face, among the plurality of inclined faces, other than thefirst inclined face, and wherein shapes or sizes of external connectionterminals provided on one of the first and second inclined faces aredifferent from each other.
 8. The image pickup apparatus according toclaim 7, wherein inclined angles of the first and second inclined faceswith respect to the optical axis are substantially the same.
 9. Theimage pickup apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the plurality ofexternal connection terminals provided on the respective plurality ofinclined surfaces are arranged at positions so as not to protrude froman outermost outline part of the apparatus main body.